Needle bar assembly for meat clamps



Sept. 7, 1954 A. VAN DUYN 2,688,353

NEEDLE BAR ASSEMBLY FOR MEAT CLAMPS Filed 001;. 20 1951 INVENTOR. ADRIANUS VAN DUYN Patented Sept. 7, 1954 NEEDLE BAR ASSEMBLY FOR MEAT CLAMPS Adrianus Van Duyn,-Rotterdam, Netherlands, as-

signor to U. S. Slicing Machine Company, Inc., La Porte, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application October 20, 1951, Serial No. 252,309

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a new and improved needle bar assembly and to a method of making it. More particularly, the invention relates to a bar having a lurality of needle points extending therethrough and fixed to the bar in a novel manner. The invention also relates to a method for making such a needle bar and to a method for making needles for such a needle bar assembly.

Prior to this invention it has been common practice to machine needles individually from a bar or piece of material of substantially larger size. Thereafter the needles are attached to a bar by welding, by screwing them into tapped holes or by driving them into drilled holes in the bar. Such practice results in a loss of expensive materials and in an expensive article due to the considerable amount of labor which must be expended in the preparation thereof.

It is an object of this invention to provide a lightweight inexpensive needle bar assembly in which a plurality of needles are fixed to a bar in a novel manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a needle bar which is characterized by a plurality of needles extending through the bar and fixed to the bar in a novel arrangement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and unusual needle element for attachment to a bar and to a method for making such a needle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel method of making a needle bar assembly by shaping wire or plate and inserting shaped pieces into openings in a bar.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood by a consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective partially exploded view of the needle bar assembly of this invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a portion of the bar assembly of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the invention and corresponding to Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the needle illustrated in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a sectional view corresponding to Figure 3 and showing another embodiment of the invention in which single L-shaped needles are employed; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the invention. I

According to the invention there is now provided a new needle bar assembly which is light in weight, inexpensive and easily prepared with a minimum expenditure of labor and materials. The needle bar comprises a plurality of needles adapted to extend through means forming a corresponding plurality of holes in a bar and adapted to be fixed to the bar. The configuration of the needles and the method of shaping and securing them to the bar are unusual and novel aspects of the invention. Such needle bar assemblies have a large number of uses such as, for example, in the food receiving and moving means in slicing machines of the type described in U. S. Patents Nos. 1,290,402 and 1,290,425.

I Considering the drawings in greater detail it will be seen that the needle bar assembly l in Figure 1 consists of an elongated bar member 2 having slightly offset end portions 3 and 4 and supporting feet 5 and 6 attached to the end portions 3 and 4 substantially at right angles to the bar member 2. The feet are drilled as at 1-! to facilitate the attachment of the assembly to supporting members (not shown).

The center portion 2 of the bar member is provided with a plurality of tapped openings 8 and a plurality of drilled openings 9-9 at spaced intervals along the flat surface thereof. The drilled openings are adapted to receive the needle element [0 which is comprised of a pair of needle arms II and [2 which have shaped points I3 and I4 at the ends thereof. The base [5 of the U- shaped needle element I0 is provided with a detent l6 which partially embraces the bolt I1 and is enclosed by the cap member l8 through which the bolt passes before it is received in the tapped opening 8.

The assembled structure is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 in which the needle element I0 has been inserted through the openings 9-9 in the bar member 2 and has been secured thereto by means of the cap member [8 and the bolt [1. With particular reference to Figure 3 it will be observed that the detent IS in the base l5 of the U-shaped needle element l0 partially encloses the stem of the bolt l1 and in turn is enclosed by the cap member I8.

Figures 4 and 5 represent another embodiment of the invention in which a needle element l9 is prepared from a fiat piece of material and in which the base 20 of the U-shaped element is drilled as at 2| in order to receive the bolt H. In this embodiment a cap member, such as the one designated as at I8 in Figures 1, 2 and 3 is no longer required.

The embodiment described in Fig. 6 is broadly similar to the embodiment disclosed in Figures 1, 2 and 3 with the exception that the needle element 22 is L-shaped in place of the U-shaped element In of Figure 1 and is complemented by a similar L shaped needle element '13 in order to complete a single unit of the assembly. The supporting ends 24 and 25 of the needle elements 22 and 23 are curved to partially enclose the shaft of the bolt l1 and in turn arepartially-enclosed by the cap member I8 in much the same fashion as previously disclosedzfor the element in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

Figure 7 illustrates still another embedimentof the invention which is similar to that previously disclosed in Figures 1, 2 and 3 insofar as a round or square piece of wire or other suitable material is employed in forming-the U-shaped needle ele- -.ment 6. Instead of, the detent L6 in the base as illustrated Figure 1 the embodiment thelsa-me fashion as'disclosedin Figures 4' and '5. Theneedle elements shown in Figures 1,2, 3,

6 and 57 are suitably prepared from stainless steel .wire "or other suitable lightweight corrosion resistant material, suchas-aluminum, magnesium, lightweight metal alloys, plastic materials and other shapeable lightweight corrosion resistant materials. The wire may be round -or square and .is firstcut to a suitable length before shaping it into the U-shaped or :L-shaped members previously described. The points are prepared by rolling or other suitable shaping method. The

embodiment shown in Figures 4 and 5 may be prepared 'from wire which is flattened or from a piece of stainless steel plate of suitable dimension.

A-needle bar assembly prepared according to the practice of this invention is much lig-hter'in weight than needle bars prepared :by any .hereto- 1 4 and 4 of the bar member 2 in such a manner that the feet 5 and 6 may be offset from the bar member 2 a substantial distance without having additional supporting members intermediate the feet and the bar.

It is contemplated that other embodiments and advantages of this invention will be suggested to those .skilledin the art and "it is intended that all such'embodiments are to be included in the invention provided they fall within the scope of the appended claim.

.The invention hereby claimed as follows:

A needle b'a'r assembly comprising an elon- Lgated-fbar a plurality of spaced sets of holes therein'l'arranged longitudinally of the bar, each-said set including a pair of spaced needle arm. receiving .holes and a tapped hole between said pair of holes, a plurality of sets of needle elements mounted in said sets of holes in said bar, each said needle element comprising a needle awn-and an integral base torming an angle there- -wi-tl:i,-.-e'a-ch said arm being received in a said needle arm receiving hole .and projecting outwardly from the same side of said bar, and each said base being mounted on the other side of the bar andlposi-t-ioned adjacent a correspondingsaid tapped hole, and screw-means threadedly engaging-each said tapped hole and detachably securring each said base to said bar.

References Cited .in the file of this patent mrrrnn snares PATENTS 

